Okay to kiss, but not in public: Sri Ram Sene

New Delhi: The dreaded Sri Ram Sene is changing stripes. It has decided to give up violence. But that's where the good news ends. The right-wing extremist formation is still against public displays of affection, women in short skirts and couples in public embrace. And against Valentine's Day of course.

From today, the Delhi unit of the Sene will organise a three-day awareness campaign starting from north campus of Delhi University and will cover colleges across the city. Its members will tell whoever will care to listen (and even those who won't) that Valentine's Day is against Indian culture and that youngsters should stop celebrating such occasions. Instead, they should celebrate Basant Panchami.

That's not all. Couples who will still go out and make merry on Valentine's Day will be videotaped and the videos will then be put up on YouTube so that they are shamed in front of the entire world. Members of the Sene will carry both ordinary cameras and spycams to catch the 'culprits in action'.

"We are not against love. What we are protesting against is the vulgar display of love. We won't allow our culture to be hijacked by foreign multinationals who have introduced concepts like Valentine's Day just to sell cards. When we upload such videos on YouTube, the couples will learn their mistake," said 23-year-old Sunil Tyagi, who is the national spokesperson of Sri Ram Sene and also its Delhi unit president.

Eight to ten teams consisting of ten to fifteen members will spread out in the city from today to spread the message of 'love in a decent manner'. "Make love, not war is also our slogan. Just do it in the privacy of your rooms and not in public," says Tyagi.

Past continuous, future tense

24 August 2008: The Sri Ram Sena vandalised an exhibition of MF Hussain's paintings in Delhi. The Sena claimed that Hussain had painted Hindu gods in a derogatory manner, including a nude representation of Bharat Mata (Mother India). The exhibition had been organised by Sahmat, an NGO, to protest the controversial exclusion of Hussain's works from the India Art Summit. The artist's framed paintings and photographs were smashed. The vandals left behind scribbled notes attacking Hussain.

Jan 25, 2009: About 15 to 20 Sri Ram Sene activists had assaulted boys and girls in a pub in Mangalore, saying they engaged in obscene dance which is against Indian culture. The assault, particularly on girls, had evoked national outrage.